BEAR FACTS

2/2: School Counselor Appreciation Appreciation Week

2/9-2/13: NBES Spirit Week of Empathy

2/10: 100s Day Celebration, 1:30pm

2/15: School Resource Officer Appreciation Day

2/16-2/20: February Break- No School

2/23: NBES Read-a-Thon Begins

February 4th, 11th, and 25th are Early Release Days

February is here and it looks like the cold, snowy weather is here for a bit.

Please remember that Winter Break will be held from Monday, February 16 through Friday, February 20. School will resume on Monday, February 23. Winters in Maine provide us with some wonderful opportunities for both outdoor and indoor activities on weekends and during the break. Here are some ideas that our BEARS and families can enjoy over the break:

• Outdoor Adventures: Try sledding, snowshoeing, or ice skating at local parks and trails. We have some wonderful trails in North Berwick and several surrounding communities have great places to ice skate.

• Explore Nature: Visit a nearby nature preserve or take a winter walk to observe animal tracks and seasonal changes.

• Community Activities: Check out the D.A. Hurd Library for some great activities. They offer weekly activities for students as well as special events that often occur over the break times.

• Creative Time at Home: Encourage our BEARS to read, write, draw, build, or work on a small project they’re excited about.

• Family Time: Board games, cooking together, or watching a favorite movie can create lasting winter memories.

We would also like to thank everyone for all of their support in helping us get to our 100th day food donation goals! We are well on our way! We look forward to celebrating this amazing community event with everyone.

Sincerely,

Heather LaFrance - Principal

Eustaquio Dones - Assistant Principal

Our Pre-K Bears proudly shared their T-shirt designs with the school, inspired by their reading of Max’s Dragon Shirt. This fun project combined literacy, creativity, and confidence as students explained their ideas and showed off their learning. We’re so proud of our Bears!

Our students have been busy counting and collecting all kinds of items as they practice math skills and teamwork in preparation for 100s Day.

So far, our classes have been busy counting and collecting:

• 161 toothbrushes
• 168 applesauce cups
• 141 microwave popcorn packages
• 138 ramen
• 133 rolls of toilet paper
• 132 cans of vegetables
• 129 packs of oatmeal
• 109 pasta
• 108 breakfast bars
• 107 cans of beans
• 97 bars of soap
• 90 boxes of mac and cheese
• 50 cans of soup
• 36 bags of rice

The excitement is building, the numbers are climbing, and we can’t wait to see where we land by next week!

Kindergarten Family Literacy Night was a wonderful success! Families and teachers came together to share strategies for building sight words, reading skills, and vocabulary at home. It truly shows what an amazing team our NBES families and staff are- our students are so lucky! Special thank you to our French mentors for providing childcare for kindergarten students and their siblings so families could fully participate.

We are excited to welcome Vanessa Hersom to our school community as our School Counseling Intern. Mrs. Hersom is a graduate student at the University of Southern Maine, where she is completing her Master’s degree in School Counseling. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science and has been a valued member of our district for the past 11 years, working in special education.

Mrs. Hersom will be working alongside Mrs. BP to support students through classroom lessons, small group instruction, and individual student support as needed. Her work will focus on promoting students’ academic success, as well as their social and emotional well-being.

Mrs. Hersom is thrilled to be back in our school and looks forward to supporting all students. Please feel free to reach out to Mrs. BP or Mrs. Hersom with any questions or to learn more about the school counseling program.

Read-A-Thons actually get your reader excited about reading and it gives friends and family the opportunity to encourage your child to read even more! We chose Read-A-Thon because it will not take much of your time, gives your child a reason to read and helps in the development of stronger reading skills.

Our Read-A-Thon starts Monday February 23, 2026.

About one week before our Read-A-Thon starts we will send home instructions on how to activate your reader's personal page. This is where you will be able to view and record their progress.

We encourage you to activate your reader’s account today by clicking on the link below!

Please use the link below to access the meeting minutes from our December meeting, which was held this past Tuesday, January 13th. Our next meeting will take place within the Art Room at NBES On Tuesday, February 10th. We had a great turnout for this meeting and would love to see additional faces at the next one!

January Meeting Minutes

Are you looking for some new BEAR swag? The PTO Swag store has great options for all bears - big and small!

You can join the PTO group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BR1Fjat1T/

Number up! is an easy-to-learn math game that uses just a deck of cards. Designed for three players, it helps kids practice finding missing addends or factors through playful, silly rounds—making it a great fluency booster for grades 1 and up.

Brave. Empathetic. Attentive. Respectful. Safe